Improvement in knock-down barrels



L. PASSOO. Knock-Down Barrel.

No. 204,600. Patented June 4,1878,

UNITED STATES-PATENT OFF-ICE.

LEW PASSOO, OF DUBUQUE, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO MONROE M. GADY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT lN KNOCK-DOWN BARRELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 204,600, dated June 4,1878 application filed July 21, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEW Pnssoo, of Dubuque, in the county of Dubuque andState of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Barrels;and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Heretofore market vegetables and fruits and manufactured articles, suchas sugar, flour, cement, &o., have been shipped or transported inordinary bulge barrels, and it has been generally found impossible forthe same party to use these barrels more than once, for the reason thatit costs as much to return the barrels to the shipper in most cases asto buy or manufacture new ones, owing to the large amount of room theyoccupy; and the object, therefore, of my invention is to produce aknock-down bulge barrel of ordinary'form, so that the same when emptycan be knocked down for shipment and the staves and heads of an entirelot of the same size packed in large bundles or piled upindiscriminately in a heap, and the hoops removed from the staves andunlocked and straightened out so as to occupy but little space, and sothat when it is desired to put the barrels together again for use theheads and the staves of the required number for each barrel can be takenindiscriminately and set up together and the hoops locked and driven onto hold the parts together by their tension in an easy and convenientmanner and without requiring any particular skill.

My invention therein consists mainly in the method of constructingknock-down bulge barrels for the purposes already described, consistingin making the staves for each size of barrel of the same dimensions,curvatures, crozings, and bevels, making the heads also the same in sizeand construction, and the hoops of metal, adapted to be locked at theirends and driven onto'the set-up barrel; and, further, in the barrelproduced by this method, as fully hereinafter explained.

To enable others skilled in the art to manufacture my barrel, I willproceed to describe the same, having reference to the drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the barrel complete; Fig. 2, ahorizontal section of the same through one of the hoops; Fig. 3, a viewof the lock to the hoop; Fig. 4, a modification of Fig.3; and Fig. 5, aseparate view of one of the heads.

Like letters denote corresponding parts.

A represents the barrel of the ordinary bulge form B, the staves (J, theheads, and D the hoops to the same.

The staves for one size of barrel are manufactured from any suitablewood, all of the same length and width, and preferably of the samethickness, and are formed with the same bevel and the same taper fromthe center to the ends. They also have the crozed grooves, which retainthe heads out at exactly the same distance from their ends.

The heads 0 are constructed of the usual circular form, all those forone size of barrel being of equal dimensions, and have beveledperipheries. Each head may be made in one piece, Fig. 5, which is themost convenient form for a knock-down barrel; but I do notwish to belimited to this construction, since heads made in two or more pieces maybe used successfully with my barrel.

The hoops are made of metal and havelockin g ends, which adapt them tobe straightened out when removed from the barrel. This is accomplishedby forming in one end of each hoop two or more circular holes or eyes.at, having rectangular elongations a. The other end of the hoop isprovided with studs 1), which engage with the holes a a, and lock thehoop in a circular form. These studs are preferably secured to a plate,b, which, in turn, is riveted to the body of the hoop; and the studs mayproject either outwardly from this plate, Fig. 3, or inwardly, Fig. 4.

It will be noticed that by this construction of the look at the ends ofthe hoop, such hoop can, if desired, be changed in size by locking onlythe outer eye and stud; or, where more than two eyes and studs are used,a variety of changes in size can be effected, thereby adapting a singlesize of hoop for use upon more than one size of the barrel, or for useas both the inner and outer hoops upon the same size of the barrel.

In constructing my barrel the required number of staves are taken andset up with the heads in the usual manner, and the staves bent intoposition, care being taken that the staves are given all the samecurvatures. The hoops are then looked and driven on, so as to hold theparts of the barrel together by their tension. In this condition thebarrel is allowed to dry thoroughly until the wood is Well seasoned, andit is then in condition to be knocked down for shipment.

When transported, the staves of any number of barrels of one size can bethrown indiscriminately into a pile, as well as the heads, and the hoopscan be straightened out and tied into bundles. either with the stavesand heads, or separately, the whole taking up but little room, andcosting much less for freight than the ordinary barrel. The staves beingall of the same dimensions, curvature, bevels, and crozings, and theheads being of the same size, the barrels can again be put together byany person with little trouble, and without the employment of skilledlabor.

I do not claim to have been the first to invent a barrel the staves ofwhich are of uniform size, or a locking-hoop for barrels, or aknock-down barrel. Barrels with staves of uniform size are described inEnglish Patents No. 1,316, of 1859, and No. 2,412, of 1873, andlocking-hoops and a knock-down barrel are described in the United StatesPatent of L. E. Sunderland, No. 170,914, dated December 7, 1875; butneither of the barrels described in the English patents was designed fora knockdown barrel for shipment, and the barrel described by Sunderlandis a cylindrical barrel, where all the staves of the barrel arepermanently secured together by fastening the hoops to each stave, andthus each barrel was packed for shipment in a flat shape, and is puttogether by bringing the two outer edges together and then fastening thehoops; but

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The method of constructing knock-down bulge barrels for facilitatingtheir transportation when knocked down, and their restoration to formwhen set up for reuse, which consists in making the staves for each sizeof barrel of the same dimensions, curvatures, crozing, and bevels, theheads also of the same size and construction, and the hoops of metal,and adapted to be locked at their ends and driven onto the set-upbarrel, substantially as set forth.

2. Aknock-down bulge barrel, composed of the following parts-to wit,staves of uniform size, bevel, curvature, and crozing, heads alike insize and construction, and locking detachable metallic hoops, wherebythe barrel, when set up, will be held in form by the tension alone ofthe hoops, and when knocked down the individuals of the several partsmay be used interchangeably, substantially as described.

This specification signed and witnessed this 3d day of July, 1877.

LEW PASSOO.

Witnesses WILLIAM GRAHAM, W. A. LEATHERS.

